Freeport girls lacrosse advances to Class B final with win over Messalonskee

[ **Our Communities. Our Teams. Our Future. **We’re proud to make high school sports coverage free for everyone, because these moments matter. At Maine State Credit Union, we’re here for the people and places that make Maine strong. Let’s go! Learn more at **[mainestatecu.org](http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=7274124606&iu=/6119)**.  TOPSHAM — The Freeport girls lacrosse team’s regular-season schedule included six games against Class A competition and plenty of games against the other top contenders in Class B. The Falcons knew their 8-6 record was a bit misleading. In the postseason, the reigning Class B state champions have shown how good they really are. Freeport, the No. 6 seed, earned a shot to defend its title with a 13-11 semifinal win Tuesday afternoon over No. 2 Messalonskee. “We had a really difficult schedule, but I believe we’re one of the top team. We practice like it, we play like it,” said Freeport’s Karleigh Costello, who scored five goals. Freeport (11-6) will face No. 1 Greely (14-2) on Friday night at Portland’s Deering High. Messalonskee ends the season at 12-4. They key to Tuesday’s win was a dominant second quarter. With the score tied 4-4 after one quarter, Freeport took the lead for good on a Costello goal 48 seconds into the second quarter. Goals from Claire Carter, Costello, Nora Eames and Costello again pushed Freeport’s lead to 9-4 with just over two minutes to play in the first half. Grace McKay’s goal for Messalonskee with 32.7 seconds left in the half stopped Freeport’s run. McKay was shaken up on the play but returned in the second half. Advertisement “As much as we can scout and watch game film, it really takes us a little bit to get going and see what they have, find the weak links on defense,” Freeport coach Marcia Wood said. One of the Falcons’ keys to success all season is to get a nice lead and gain momentum, so if an opponent does go on a scoring run, they have a cushion. That was the case Tuesday, as Freeport withstood a late comeback bid by Messalonskee. “We heard (the Eagles) were a second-half team. We wanted to come out with high intensity and keep a comfortable spread,” Costello said. “It feels really good to pull through with a win.” Sophia Ventimiglia scored five goals for Messalonskee, including one with 1:04 left in the game to pull the Eagles within two. This is the fourth straight year in which the Falcons will play for a state title. Before winning Class B last season, Freeport was the Class B runner up in 2024 and Class C champion in 2023. “Our goal is to play the very last day, and we’re playing the very last day,” Wood said. Copy the Story Link Tagged: [freeport falcons](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/freeport-falcons/), [Messalonskee Eagles](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/messalonskee-eagles/), [varsity maine](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/varsity-maine/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/travis-lazarczyk) [Travis LazarczykColumnist](https://www.pressherald.com/author/travis-lazarczyk) Travis Lazarczyk has covered sports for the Portland Press Herald since 2021. A Vermont native, he graduated from the University of Maine in 1995 with a BA in English. After a few years working as a sports. [More by Travis Lazarczyk](https://www.pressherald.com/author/travis-lazarczyk)